The Exhibition
by Alsike
Summary: High school was over a long time ago, and things are different now. But what Youko wants more than anything may not have changed at all.
1. Youko at the Exhibition

Youko was utterly bored

Youko was utterly bored. She glared vaguely at the crush of people drinking their American-style cocktails and carefully appreciating the status of those around them, and not the artwork in this department store gallery that was barely visible among the crowds. Youko was tired of this world; she was just tired, period. It had been a long day, and all she wanted was to sit down, just for a little while and then maybe she could make it home on the bus without ending up in Asakusa. She wasn't touching her drink. She needed coffee, not alcohol, if she was going to stay awake long enough to get home.

A movement of the crowd let her catch sight of the door. She sidled that way, dodging in and out of knots of people. Finally she stepped into the hallway, still cool from the air conditioning, not reheated by too many bodies. She set her drink on a ledge and headed down the hall to where she remembered a few vending machines. Good, she had remembered correctly, she stood for a moment, deciding between espresso and coke, decided not to give into her déclassé impulses and fed the machine 120 yen and bought the espresso. She sipped it gratefully as she walked back towards the gallery entrance, and only looked up when she reached the ledge where she had left her drink. She leaned next to it. It wasn't exactly sitting, but it would do for a bit.

She only closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them there was a figure standing outside the gallery door, watching her.

"Hot in there, isn't it, Youko-chan," said a voice that was impossibly familiar. Youko bolted up, barely avoiding sloshing espresso out of the can and onto her outfit and turned toward the voice.

"Sei?" Her eyes verified what her ears told her was true, "Sei! What are _you_ doing here?"

Sei grinned, her perpetually messy hair flopping randomly as she tipped her head. "I was just about to ask the same thing. And if you don't know why I'm here then I am really boggled at your appearance."

"Boggled? And _what_?" Youko sighed. "I'm here for the exhibit. A client invited me. What's your excuse?"

"Did you get a card or anything?"

"No. It was on the phone."

"Did he mention whose exhibition it was?"

"Do you really think the exhibit was the most important thing on his mind? He was too busy telling me the names of all the big-shots who he would introduce me to." Youko had slowed down in the last few phrases and was looking at Sei in mounting shock. "This is _your_ show? I mean, Sachiko told me you were studying art, but that was four, five years ago… You have a show!?"

Sei grinned the grin of the embarrassed and proud. "And I thought I was going to be an artist because I'd never make any money and it would be the most detrimental to society without actually stealing anything."

"I can't believe it, I've been in there for hours and I didn't even see anything!"

"I don't doubt it. It was packed, but it's starting to clear out now. Want to go in and have a special tour with the artist?"

"Definitely." Youko took her friend's arm, chugged the last of the espresso, set the can down, and together, they returned to the party.

It wasn't until they got to the painting on the far wall that Youko looked at the painting, paused, looked at the painting again, and then narrowed her eyes and looked at Sei, but before she could say anything the client who had invited her came up and interrupted.

"Mizuno-san, it looks like you met the artist."

"Yes," said Youko, "Thank you so much for inviting me."

"It was my pleasure." He turned to the painting on the wall, "This is my favorite painting."

Youko tried to keep her choke from being too obvious. Sei didn't try to stop her cat-like grin.

"The colors are gorgeous, calm and almost oppressive on the outside, but inside it's bright and angry, and that huge white presence in the center… it's a fine painting."

"Thank you, sir," said Sei, "It's one of my favorites as well."

Youko looked as if she was going to explode.

"I'm going to have one more look around and then head home. You don't need a ride, Mizuno-san?"

"No, thank you. I'm sure Satou-san will make sure I get home safely."

"Good night then."

"Good night, and thank you for inviting me."

"My pleasure."

He left. Youko smiled until he had stepped outside the room, and then she whirled on Sei.

"That's you!" she hissed, indicating the painting with a sharp motion of her hand, "That's you _fucking_ Maria-sama."

Sei laughed and laughed, she slapped her knee and then grabbed it to support her as she gasped for air. "Finally!" she said, "finally someone can see what's in the painting. Everyone goes on about the white presence, ooo."

Youko looked at the painting, not angry or shocked anymore. "Did you really feel that trapped?" she asked, not sure what she wanted the answer to be.

"Sometimes," Sei said, responding to her mood, "But I guess I liked it, I mean I stayed for college. You didn't do that."

"No, I suppose, I suppose sometimes I felt like that, like there were certain rules of conduct that, well, that only you could break. Then I got out, I escaped, and I remembered that the whole world is like that, everything has rules, everything is based on expectations and appearances. I like that, I like always knowing what I'm supposed to do. But I'm not going to let these rules and expectations keep me from what I want to do. There's always room for a Sei, I told myself. There's always room for that one who's different, but loved anyways."

Sei watched her intently, "You always had room for me, not everyone did."

"You were my favorite thing at school. Meddling with your life was the most enjoyable activity I had."

"You have accepted your status as an irrepressible meddler?"

"I get paid for meddling in people's lives. But I miss yours. You were always difficult to deal with and I never got to meddle quite as much as I'd like."

"That's because I like people to be straight with me, and you were always devious. You can't not be devious, it's just the way you are."

"Maybe I've learned to be more honest, or at least when to be obvious and when to play with the truth. When you're dealing with personal relationships it's better to be straight."

"Personal relationships? You, miss perfect, Miss_ Mary_, have experience with that?"

"Are you so surprised? I've had a few lovers. Are you horrified? Did you want to be my first?"

"What!" Sei turned from shocked to angry, "Just because you know I'm _different_ doesn't mean you get to hold it over me."

Youko watched her carefully, "Let's go."

"What? Where?"

"I don't care, a coffee shop, just not here. Somewhere anonymous."

"Love hotel?"

Youko grinned, "If that's what _you_ want." She caught Sei's arm and led her out. "That's the sort of response I was looking for. I know you go off at people, but not me, unless I was meddling again."

"Hey, I'm not used to being teased by girls I had futile crushes on in high-school and haven't seen since."

"Crushes? Oh Sei, you do know how to make me feel good."

They took the elevator down and walked out into the humid night. It was late enough so the buses had stopped running and the streets were dark and mostly empty.

"Are you seeing anyone now?" Youko asked Sei.

"And you're asking because…"

"Because I want to see if there's any opportunity to meddle, of course."

"Of course," Sei chuckled, "I should have known. But no, there hasn't been anyone in a while. I've been focusing on my painting." Sei watched the ground for a few steps, but then glanced up, in control, "well, what about you? Boyfriend, fiancé?" Sei grinned, "You said 'lovers,' now that's a word that begs a question."

Youko flashed a bare hand, "I'm unattached, much to the chagrin of my parents who, after hearing of my exploits in college, tried everything they could to tie me to an appropriate mate."

"You were quite the player, ne? It's funny. I'd never thought you'd be, I mean, you're attractive as all get out, but, you don't open up too easily, I mean, I don't even know if I know who you really are, and I could always read you pretty well."

"You give yourself too much credit."

"What?"

Youko yanked Sei into an alley, "What makes you think that my lovers weren't all women? What makes you think you know me when you never noticed that I would have done _anything_ for you!"

"But, but they weren't-" Sei stuttered, unused to this unrestrained Youko.

"They were. I had three lovers in college, two girlfriends and one dirty secret. I had had enough of perfect control, of being the perfect girl, doing what everyone expected of her. I did better than everyone expected in classes. I rejected an offer from my father's firm and took a higher position with a rival law-firm. I rejected all the prospective husbands my parents set me up with. No one controls me but me. I'll play up to people's expectations when it's worth my while, but when it's my happiness it's my decision."

Sei gaped at her, then she glared. "You mean I wasn't the only freak, you mean I wasn't alone and you never told me?"

"You weren't ever alone. I was always there even if you were too blind to see it."

"Why didn't you-"

"Because you _were_ the only freak! You were the only one who didn't realize either that it wasn't worth admitting or that everyone was the same. You were the only one who couldn't hide. We all feel alone; we all are alone. We keep our pain to ourselves and we do our best to protect the people we care about even if there's nothing we can do."

"You could have told me," Sei pouted. Youko cupped her cheek and looked her in the eye.

"I couldn't have. You were the only person I really couldn't have told, because you were the only one I really wanted."

It was a frozen moment, Youko waiting for it to register and Sei waiting to believe this impossible thing. Then she closed the distance and kissed Youko. Youko's hand slid through her hair to the back of her head and kept her close.

When they finally broke for air, Sei gasped for a few moments before she said, "Okay, I'll believe you've had a lover now. You're really good at that."

Youko said nothing. She said nothing for a long time.

"Are you okay?" Sei asked. Youko was sniffling slightly and then she struck out with wild swinging fists. Occasionally a fist would swing back and wipe away tears.

"Why? Why? I thought I was _over_ you. I was almost acting normally around you. I thought I was going to be okay this time."

"Youko, Youko-" Sei caught her fists. "Hey, come on."

Youko looked at her with burning hatred in her eyes. "I don't want you to be my Shiori."

Sei almost snarled, "don't say that-"

Youko's arms snaked around her neck and tugged her down. They were kissing again, tongues and fingers and bodies moving. When they broke that time they didn't let go. Sei breathed heavily in her face. "My, my apartment's near here, I think we need to talk."

"Yes, talk," Youko said in a voice as cool as ever, but she didn't look the same, her hair was mussed and her face was hot and red and her eyes were sharper and clearer than Sei had ever seen them.


	2. Sei's Apartment

Her apartment was small but warm, and it was a lot closer than Youko's

Her apartment was small but warm, and it was a lot closer than Youko's. She knew that she had given up on getting home that night. If Sei threw her out then she would probably sleep on the doorstep, but that was later, right now she was wide-awake. And as, ahead of her, Sei kicked off her shoes and jogged in to make sure there was water in the teapot, Youko let her bag drop and slipped out of her shoes as she hunted through the nearby closets for even one pair of slippers (extra was not an issue, Sei clearly did not care for them). She thought about hurrying to find a mirror, straighten her hair, fix her make up, smile- but this was Sei, this wasn't a date with just another girl whom she was trying to impress into bed, it was Sei. She didn't know whether that made it more important to come off well or less, but Sei had never been impressed by anything Youko did; being all fixed up wasn't really going to help. And she had already been enough of a mess in front of her tonight anyway. But this was _it_, a part of her was saying, as if this particular situation carried more importance than any had before. Everything else was practice, but it had been terrible practice, she had learned how to lie so well, but Sei wanted honesty- Honesty? The only use Youko had for that was to be shocking. She shook her head and gave up on the slipper hunt, then followed Sei's path into the kitchen.

"You! You're not supposed to be in here!" Sei was waving a finger wildly at her. "Go out there, be a guest."

Youko bowed, "Forgive me for intruding."

She started out into the living area but Sei caught her hand. She turned back. Sei was looking at her, eyes hard and focused. Then her hand was released and Sei turned back to the tea.

Youko closed her eyes for a moment. What was she doing? This was Sei, someone she could never understand, never come close to organizing a sensible analysis of her behavior; she was too mercurial, too dichotomous, too bloody insane!

She turned and entered the dining area, then knelt by the table. Sei bustled out after her dropping mismatched cups and various tea options on the table.

Sei was smiling at her and not really paying attention to anything. It was weird. They were both probably overtired. She sorted through the tea so as not to pay attention to the gaze and pulled out the most highly caffeinated varieties. She was not feeling sleepy at all anymore, but she couldn't be too careful about what a tired tongue might let slip.

Sei was trying to help her and it was safe to look up, but her hands easily put the bags in the cups and put them under the spout. She pressed the buttons on automatic and glanced back at Sei who was watching her and half-grinning.

"You're not acting like a guest."

"We'll you're a terrible host."

"Oh! You stab me to the heart!"

"You need someone to take care of you." Youko froze, clutching her cup of tea. Had she actually said that? What did it sound like on the other side- did it-

"Are you offering?" it did.

"Well, I was always willing to take control of your life."

"I thought we got over the part where you were the master puppeteer and I was the reluctant Pinocchio. Okusan."

Youko set her tea down. "Let's not play those games, please."

"So you do want it."

"Sei- Don't push it." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. We both have our buttons I suppose, but I'm no one's okusan."

"Single to the day you die, eh? Where did you get these ideas, anyways? You were always tough, but I never saw you as someone who wouldn't do what was expected of them."

"If it's important. I don't think I always made that judgment, but at least with this I had a lot of things guiding me about what was important. Sachiko helped. The complete debacle about getting Sachiko over her hatred of men, that helped."

"Oh god, don't remind me. You made me pick the boy, come on."

"You said he'd be safe."

"He's totally flaming!"

"He asked me to marry him once."

"Um."

"It was just a random thing, more of the 'if this Osagawara thing falls through I'd be happy to become a Mizuno' type."

Sei cracked up, slapping her leg. "He is _such_ a woman. I'm glad he's becoming more comfortable with it, though the molesting of Yumi's brother was just sick."

Youko nodded.

"So I guess you figured that the alliance wasn't that important."

"It's important if you care about power and influence, not if you care about people."

"You really do believe that. I can't believe how wrong I was, how completely and utterly self-absorbed I was. I thought I was obsessed with- with her, but I was really only obsessed with myself, trying to make my self whole, trying to change what I hated about myself in her."

It was getting rough. "We don't have to do this."

Sei smashed her fist into the table. "Stop _caring_ about me so much!"

Oh yes, it had gotten rough. Youko shoved her cup away from her, glaring straight at Sei. "Why didn't you ever grope me?"

Sei froze, completely shocked. Youko did her best to hide the smile that threatened to escape.

"You- you wanted me to-"

"Yes, I kind of felt left out. You were always going for Yumi, and I was happy to see you laugh; but- did you ever _like_ me? I- I don't know. I just don't feel like we could ever just laugh together. There was too much build up, too much history. I think it was mostly my fault. I wanted you too much. I was always worrying about what you thought of me, worrying so much I could never seem anything but stiff and proper, like you hated."

Sei started a grin. "When Yumi told me that you had molested her I had never been so shocked in my life. But I did like you. Maybe we never joked around, but whenever I needed someone, you always tried so hard."

"Oh great- I'm the one who 'tried'."

"After, after the train station, I was still pretty wrapped up in myself, but I did figure it out. I did understand that you were there for me. You weren't there because you thought I was a dead weight on the Yamayurikai. My Oneesama wasn't either. I don't think I paid her back for everything she did for me."

"I don't know," Youko sipped her tea, "I think you did pretty well."

"How do you mean?"

Youko tapped the rim of her cup. "We caring Oneesama, the only repayment we want, is that our little sisters turn out well, and _I_, at least, think you turned out just fine."

"You arrogant little-" Sei was diving towards her and knocking her back on the tatami. Youko saved her tea, struggled and flailed, Sei was lying on top of her. She couldn't let herself lie still, she couldn't or she knew her hands would catch that shaggy head and hold her in place to be kissed. It shouldn't be such a big deal. They had done it already, they had done it twice in fact, but it was still Sei, it was still completely terrifying and completely repressed. And if she did it, if she let go- well, stopping was an interesting theory, but really truly impracticable.

Hands- under shirt- choke. Youko pulled away, tucking her knees into herself. Sei was left kneeling, one hand on the floor.

"Youko-sa-, are you okay, I'm sorry, I thought you wanted-"

Youko hung her head. "God, I'm acting like a virgin. It's just- if we start-."

"But, do you want to start?"

Youko looked at the girl across from her, who looked slightly worried, but her reasons were her own. She was still Sei, totally and completely. "Yes."

The facial antics were interesting to watch. The Sei jumped up. "I'll be right back." And she fled.

Youko sat, still huddled up in the corner, but thinking to herself that it wasn't exactly the reaction she was expecting.

When Sei did not return for five minutes she went back to the table and made some more tea. Ten minutes after she reappeared looking flustered and smelling of toothpaste.

"So, um, what were you doing?"

"I, uh, had to clean my room and um, arrange the futon."

Youko stood up and offered her hand. "Well, shall we go?"

Sei gaped. "What? Just like that?"

Youko raised an eyebrow. "Well, here's the theory. I'm actually quite tired and I have just missed the last train home, so unless you forcibly throw me out I'm going to stay over, no matter what we do, and I hope you won't take it badly if I manage to collapse before-"

Sei took her arm. "Please, I have been a terrible host. Let me escort you to your bed. Would you like to borrow some pajamas?"

Youko smiled, and yawned, quickly covering her mouth. "I don't think we need go that far."

They entered Sei's room. Youko was unimpressed by the immense mound of laundry barely restrained by the hamper and the comforter had been unskillfully arranged to appear both made and inviting but only succeeded in appearing rumpled. But the screens were beautiful and they stopped her as Sei glanced around grimacing. They were not quite enough, however, to distract her from the fact that she intended to undress with Sei watching her.

"Do you want a bath?"

"I think I'd drown." She slipped out of her jacket. "Unzip me?" She held herself stiffly, keeping her breathing under control as Sei came up behind her. Her hands were on her neck, down, sliding over her shoulders. The dress pooled at her feet and she stepped out of it. She picked it up and folded it. Then she stepped over and sat on the edge of the futon as she pulled off her nylons. She glanced up at Sei who was still standing there, looking completely confused and felt like being wicked. She slid under the comforter. "Well?" she asked, "Are you coming?"

Sei hurried out of her trousers. "Do you think I would pass this up?" She slid in next to Youko, "Wait till I tell all the boys that I had Youko-chan in my bed. Oh, they'll all be so jealous."

Youko looked at her, smiling softly. "What will you say in the morning?"

"Mm," Sei grinned, "What do you want for breakfast? I think I can successfully make eggs and toast… or possibly fried rice."

"Eggs and toast sound fine." Youko grinned and hooked her arms around Sei's neck. "I'll kiss you now."

"Well, if that's the response I get, I'll look to expanding my repertoire. Not too tired?"

"Wide awake and highly caffeinated."

"Is that so."

Youko saw Sei's lips curl into a grin before they took hers and she was being pushed down into the bed, Sei's warm body sprawled halfway on top of hers, and she had wrapped her hands around her head, holding her down. And it was too intense, Sei's thumb was brushing against her cheek and the other one was curled around her arm. Neither were making a move to go beyond kissing like this, chaste closed mouth kisses turning into hot open mouthed ones, interchanging with occasional exchanges of tongue. And it was insane. Youko felt the scene from outside her body, outside her immediate attention she could almost say obsession, with the kiss. And she looked down at them, tussling under a rumpled pink comforter and she wondered what Eriko would say, probably something like "eventually the cicadas will rise from the ground and make so much noise that you'll want to cover your ears when you walk under a tree." But what would the ghost of the Yamayurikai say, that spirit that had kept them still and calm and responsible, seeing two of her former members engaging in such activity? "It's your first date, you don't need to jump so far so fast," it said in Youko's head, and Youko giggled into the kiss. Sei pulled away. "What are you laughing at?"

"Just us," she said, and kissed her. Because it was their first date, but it might well be their last, and she was already making up for lost time.


End file.
